Method for prioritizing a communication in a wireless communication system

ABSTRACT

A wireless communication system receives ( 402 ) a communication specifying a portable subscriber unit ( 122 ) for which the communication is intended, and further indicating an originator location at which an originator of the communication is positioned. The system determines ( 404 ) a recipient location at which the portable subscriber unit is positioned. The system then calculates ( 406 ) a distance between the originator location and the recipient location, and routes ( 412 ) the communication to the portable subscriber unit when the distance meets a distance criterion.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/362,589,filed Jul. 28, 1999, by Smith et al., entitled METHOD FOR PRIORITIZING ACOMMUNICATION IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, now U.S. Pat. No.6,198,931 which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates in general to wireless communication systems, andmore specifically to a method for prioritizing a communication in awireless communication system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Call prioritization based upon location is becoming increasinglyimportant. For example, time is money for many people, and dealing withphone calls or other messages takes time. Being able to route calls toalternate services, e.g., voice mail, on various criteria is becomingimportant to help control the effort expended on low-valuecommunication.

Salespersons who cover large territories, business executives, and othermobile professionals may have preferences about callers with whom theywish to spend time that are dependent on where the mobile professionaland the caller are located. Urgency of a mobile-generated call may beaffected by the location of the caller. A mobile subscriber may not wantto receive any low-priority calls while driving at high speed. Prior artwireless communication systems have not provided adequate solutions tosuch prioritization problems.

Thus, what is needed is a method for prioritizing a communication in awireless communication system. Preferably, the method will allowprioritization based upon the relative locations of the caller and theintended recipient, further based upon the location of a callingportable unit, and further based upon the speed at which an intendedportable recipient is moving.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention concerns various methods for prioritizing acommunication in a wireless communication system serving a plurality ofportable subscriber units. One representative aspect includes: receivingthe communication, which specifies a first one of the plurality ofportable subscriber units for which the communication is intended, andfurther indicates an originator location at which an originator of thecommunication is positioned and determining a recipient location atwhich the first one of the plurality of portable subscriber units ispositioned. Further included is calculating a distance between theoriginator location and the recipient location; diverting thecommunication to message storage when the distance does not meet adistance criterion; and routing the communication to the first one ofthe plurality of portable subscriber units when not diverting thecommunication to message storage. A further representative methodincludes receiving the communication from one of the plurality ofportable subscriber units and determining a geographic location at whichthe one of the plurality of portable subscriber units is positioned.Further included is assigning a priority to the communication, thepriority based upon the geographic location; and processing thecommunication in accordance with said priority.

A more detailed aspect is a method for prioritizing a communicationincluding an originator identifier for identifying an originator of thecommunication in a wireless communication system serving a plurality ofportable subscriber units. The method includes receiving thecommunication, specifying one of the plurality of portable subscriberunits for which the communication is intended, computing a speed of theone of the plurality of portable subscriber units and comparing thespeed with a speed threshold. Further included is comparing theoriginator identifier with a list of important originator identifiersassociated with the one of the plurality of portable subscriber unitswhen the speed exceeds the speed threshold; routing the communication tothe one of the plurality of portable subscriber units when the speeddoes not exceed the speed threshold; and routing the communication tothe one of the plurality of portable subscriber units when theoriginator identifier is included in the list of important originatoridentifiers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an electrical block diagram of an exemplary wirelesscommunication system in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an electrical block diagram of an exemplary portablesubscriber unit in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an electrical block diagram of an exemplary controller inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram depicting operation of the exemplary wirelesscommunication system in accordance with a first aspect of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram depicting operation of the exemplary wirelesscommunication system in accordance with a second aspect of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram depicting operation of the exemplary wirelesscommunication system in accordance with a third aspect of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram depicting operation of the exemplary wirelesscommunication system in accordance with a fourth aspect of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring to FIG. 1, an electrical block diagram depicts an exemplarywireless communication system in accordance with the present invention,comprising a fixed portion 102 including a controller 112 and aplurality of conventional base stations 116, the communication systemalso including a plurality of portable subscriber units 122. The basestations 116 preferably communicate with the portable subscriber units122 utilizing conventional radio frequency (RF) techniques, and arecoupled by conventional communication links 114 to the controller 112,which controls the base stations 116.

The hardware of the controller 112 is preferably a combination of aChoreographer!^(™) network management device, a Wireless MessagingGateway (WMG^(™)) Administrator!^(™) terminal, an RF-Usher!^(™)multiplexer, and an RF-Conductor!^(™)message distributor manufactured byMotorola, Inc., and utilizes software modified in accordance with thepresent invention. The hardware of the base stations 116 is preferably acombination of the RF-Orchestra!^(™) transmitter and theRF-Audience!^(™) receiver manufactured by Motorola, Inc. The portablesubscriber units 122 are preferably similar to PageWriter^(™) 2000 dataportable subscriber units, also manufactured by Motorola, Inc., and alsoutilize software modified in accordance with the present invention. Itwill be appreciated that other similar hardware can be used as well forthe controller 112, the base stations 116, and the portable subscriberunits 122.

Each of the base stations 116 transmits RF signals to the portablesubscriber units 122 via an antenna 118. The base stations 116preferably each receive RF signals from the plurality of portablesubscriber units 122 via the antenna 118. The RF signals transmitted bythe base stations 116 to the portable subscriber units 122 (outboundmessages) comprise selective call addresses identifying the portablesubscriber units 122, and data messages originated by a messageoriginator, as well as commands originated by the controller 112 foradjusting operating parameters of the radio communication system. The RFsignals preferably transmitted by the portable subscriber units 122 tothe base stations 116 (inbound messages) comprise responses that includescheduled messages, such as positive acknowledgments (ACKs) and negativeacknowledgments (NAKs), and unscheduled messages, such as registrationrequests and requests for items of information. It will be appreciatedthat, alternatively, another wireless communication technology, e.g.,infrared technology, can be used to communicate between the basestations 116 and the portable subscriber units 122.

The controller 112 preferably is coupled by telephone links 101 to apublic switched telephone network (PSTN) 110 for receiving selectivecall message originations therefrom. Selective call originationscomprising data messages from the PSTN 110 can be generated, forexample, from a conventional telephone 111 or a conventional computer117 coupled to the PSTN 110. It will be appreciated that, alternatively,other types of networks, e.g., a local area network (LAN), a wide areanetwork (WAN), and the Internet, to name a few, can be used forreceiving selective call originations. It will be further appreciatedthat the computer 117 can also function as a server for providingvarious applications and information utilized by the wirelesscommunication system. In that mode, the computer 117 preferably iscoupled directly to the controller 112 without going through the PSTN.

The over-the-air protocol utilized for outbound and inbound messages ispreferably selected from Motorola's well-known FLEX^(™) family ofdigital selective call signaling protocols. These protocols utilizewell-known error detection and error correction techniques and aretherefore tolerant to bit errors occurring during transmission, providedthat the bit errors are not too numerous. It will be appreciated thatother suitable protocols can be used as well. It will be furtherappreciated that the present invention also is applicable to manydifferent types of wireless communication systems, including cellulartelephone systems, trunked dispatch systems, and voice and datamessaging systems, to name a few.

FIG. 2 is an electrical block diagram of an exemplary portablesubscriber unit 122 in accordance with the present invention. Theportable subscriber unit 122 comprises an antenna 204 for interceptingan outbound message and for transmitting an inbound message. The antenna204 is preferably coupled to a conventional receiver 208 for receivingthe outbound message and is coupled to a conventional transmitter 209for transmitting the inbound message. The receiver 208 and transmitter209 are coupled to a processing system 206 for processing the outboundand inbound messages and for controlling the portable subscriber unit122 in accordance with the present invention. A user interface 214preferably is also coupled to the processing system 206 for interfacingwith a user. The user interface 214 comprises a conventional keyboard220 for requesting that an operation be performed and for controllingthe portable subscriber unit 122, a conventional display 216 forreporting location information associated with the operation, and aconventional alert element 218 for alerting the user when an outboundmessage arrives. A conventional clock 207 is also coupled to theprocessing system 206 for supporting time keeping requirements of theportable subscriber unit 122.

The processing system 206 comprises a conventional processor 210 and aconventional memory 212. The memory 212 comprises software elements anddata for programming the processing system 206 in accordance with thepresent invention. The memory 212 preferably includes a selective calladdress 222 to which the portable subscriber unit 122 is responsive. Inaddition, the memory 212 includes a message processing element 224 forprogramming the processing system 206 to process messages throughwell-known techniques. The memory 212 further comprises a locationinformation processing program 226 for programming the processing system206 to cooperate with the controller 112 to process location informationthrough well-known techniques. The memory 212 also includes a requesttyping program 228 for programming the processing system 206 to send arequest type along with an inbound request in accordance with thepresent invention. The memory 212 also includes space for storing alocation context 230, which can be identified to the portable subscriberunit 122 from a short-range cell or, alternatively, from the controller112. It will be appreciated that, in an alternative embodiment, thelocation context 230 can reside in the base stations 116 or thecontroller 112, instead. The memory 212 further comprises a space forrecording a speed 232 of the portable subscriber unit 122 currentlycalculated by the processing system 206 in cooperation with the locationinformation processing program 226 and the controller 112. In oneembodiment, the portable subscriber unit 122 also includes a locationreceiver 234, such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver,coupled to the processing system 206 for helping determine the locationof the portable subscriber unit 122 through well-known techniques.Operation of the portable subscriber unit 122 in accordance with thepresent invention will be described in detail further below. FIG. 3 isan electrical block diagram depicting an exemplary controller 112 inaccordance with the present invention. The controller 112 comprises anetwork interface 318 for receiving a message from a message originatorvia the telephone links 101. The network interface 318 is coupled to aprocessing system 310 for controlling and communicating with the networkinterface 318. The processing system is coupled to a base stationinterface 304 for controlling and communicating with the portablesubscriber units 122 via the base stations 116. The processing system310 is also coupled to a conventional clock 336 for providing a timingsignal to the processing system 310. The processing system 310 comprisesa conventional computer 312 and a conventional mass medium 314, e.g., amagnetic disk drive, programmed with information and operating softwarein accordance with the present invention. The mass medium 314 comprisesa conventional subscriber database 320 for storing profiles definingservice for subscribers using the system. The mass medium 314 furthercomprises a message processing element 322 for processing messagesthrough well-known techniques.

The mass medium 314 also includes a location information processingprogram 326 for programming the processing system 310 to cooperate withthe portable subscriber unit 122 to process location information throughwell-known techniques. The mass medium 314 also includes space forstoring originator and recipient locations 328 determined in response tocommunications handled by the wireless communication system. The massmedium 314 further comprises a distance calculation program 330 forprogramming the processing system 310 to calculate distances betweencorresponding pairs of the originator and recipient locations. Inaddition, the mass medium 314 includes a message prioritization program332 for programming the processing system 310 to prioritizecommunications in accordance with the present invention. It will beappreciated that in an alternative embodiment, some or all of thefunctionality provided by the location information processing program326, the distance calculation program 330, and the messageprioritization program 332 can reside in the portable subscriber unit122, instead.

The mass medium 314 further comprises a message storage space 338 forstoring communications which do not have sufficient priority to berouted immediately to the portable subscriber unit 122. It will beappreciated that, alternatively, such messages can be routed to anexternal device, such as a voice mail system. In addition, the massmedium 314 comprises a location context database 340 for storing aplurality of locations and corresponding location contexts. A locationcontext is descriptive of a characteristic of the location, e.g., safe,fire hazard, high crime, busy highway, etc. The mass medium 314 furthercomprises an area for storing at least one speed threshold 342 and atleast one priority threshold 343 utilized in accordance with the presentinvention. In addition, the mass medium includes a list of importantoriginator identifiers 344 defined by users of the plurality of portablesubscriber units 122. It will be appreciated that, alternatively, someof the elements described above as being included in the mass medium 314can instead be located on a server coupled to the wireless communicationsystem via a network, such as the Internet, or can be included in theplurality of portable subscriber units 122. In one embodiment, thecontroller 112 also includes a location receiver 334, such as a GPSreceiver, for helping determine the locations of the portable subscriberunits 122 through well-known techniques. Operation of the controller 112in accordance with the present invention will be described furtherbelow.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram depicting operation of the exemplary wirelesscommunication system in accordance with a first aspect of the presentinvention. The flow begins when the controller 112 receives 402 acommunication specifying a portable subscriber unit 122 for which thecommunication is intended, and further indicating an originator locationat which the originator of the communication is positioned. Thecontroller 112 then cooperates with portable subscriber unit 122 forwhich the communication is intended to determine 404 a recipientlocation at which the portable subscriber unit 122 is positioned. Thecontroller 112 then calculates 406 the distance between the originatorlocation and the recipient location. The controller 112 checks 408whether the distance meets a distance criterion, e.g., whether thedistance is less than a predetermined distance. If so, the processingsystem 310 routes 412 the communication to the portable subscriber unit122. If not, the processing system 310 routes 410 the communicationelsewhere, e.g., to the message storage space 338. A practical exampleof an application of the first aspect of the present invention follows.

A salesman who covers a large territory is on the road for three weeksout of four. To get maximum value from visits to customers, the salesmanputs a lot of effort on the ‘current location’ customers. This effortcan be extended to messaging and/or phone services by the first aspectof the present invention, which can be arranged to direct calls andmessages from customers in the same geographic area as the salesmandirectly to the salesman's portable subscriber unit and to redirectother calls to message storage (or voice mail). This is done to permitthe salesman to communicate with the customers with whom he can visitdirectly. The originator locations of wireline-calling customers can beestimated, for example, through calling line identification (CLI)cross-referenced geographically by a database (not shown)-of the massmedium 314.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram depicting operation of the exemplary wirelesscommunication system in accordance with a second aspect of the presentinvention. Flow begins when the controller 112 receives 502 acommunication from a portable subscriber unit 122. The controller 112then cooperates 503 with the portable subscriber unit 122 to determinethe location of the portable subscriber unit 122. The controller 112also checks 504 whether the communication includes a request typeassigned by the portable subscriber unit 122. The request type, e.g.,normal, important, or emergency, preferably is assigned by the userthrough a key sequence. Alternatively, e.g., for an emergency-onlydevice, the request type can be built into the portable subscriber unit122. If the communication does include a request type, at step 506 thecontroller 112 decides to store 508 the request type along with themessage, and then proceeds to step 510. If not, at step 506 thecontroller 112 proceeds directly to step 510 to check whether a locationcontext exists in the location context database 340 corresponding to thelocation of the portable subscriber unit 122. If so, at step 512 theflow moves to step 514 where the controller 112 checks whether thelocation context applies at the current time. If so, the controller 112assigns 516 the location context to the location. Then, based upon thelocation of the portable subscriber unit 122, and, when available, therequest type and the location context, the controller assigns 520 apriority to the communication, and processes the communication inaccordance with the priority. A practical example of an application ofthe second aspect of the present invention follows.

A child wearing the portable subscriber unit 122 has moved from a safehome location context to a safe playground location context. Queries andmessages can have a lower priority in the system than those where thechild is found to have moved to an unsafe location context, such as neara highway. In addition, a request type such as an emergency call forhelp can be assigned a higher priority than, for example, a normalrequest type.

Another example, which is controlled by an applicable time period,follows. In the case of a natural disaster (earthquake, hurricane,etc.), communications originating from the disaster area can be givenhigh priority over other areas for the duration of a time period lastingthrough an expected recovery time. For the case of a hurricane movingalong the coast with a predictable path, the high priority areas can beset in advance and removed after the hurricane passes.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram 600 depicting operation of the exemplarywireless communication system in accordance with a third aspect of thepresent invention. Flow begins with the controller 112 receiving 602 acommunication intended for a portable subscriber unit 122. Thecontroller 112 cooperates with the portable subscriber unit 122 tocompute 604 the speed at which the portable subscriber unit 122 ismoving, using well-known techniques. The controller 112 then compares606 the speed with the speed threshold 342. If at step 608 the speed ofthe portable subscriber unit 122 is not above the speed threshold, thenthe controller 112 routes 620 the communication to the portablesubscriber unit 122. If, on the other hand, at step 608 the speed isabove the speed threshold, the controller checks 610 whether thecommunication contains an originator identifier, e.g., a selective calladdress, or a CLI. If at step 612 it does, the controller 112 compares614 the originator identifier with the list of important originatoridentifiers 344 defined for the portable subscriber unit 122. If at step616 the controller 112 has found an important originator identifier thatmatches the originator identifier, then the controller 112 routes 620the communication to the portable subscriber unit 122. If not, thecontroller sends 618 the communication elsewhere, e.g., to the messagestorage space 338. Also, at step 612, when the communication does notcontain an originator identifier, the flow proceeds to step 618.Preferably, the speed threshold 342 is assigned on a per-subscriberbasis. Alternatively, a single, system-wide speed threshold can beutilized instead.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram 700 depicting operation of the exemplarywireless communication system in accordance with a fourth aspect of thepresent invention. The flow diagram 700 is similar to the flow diagram600, the essential differences being that when the speed of the portablesubscriber unit 122 is above the speed threshold, the controller 112checks 702 whether the communication contains a priority indicator forindicating the priority of the communication. If at step 704 it does,the controller 112 compares 706 the priority of the communication withthe priority threshold 343 associated with the portable subscriber unit122. Then at step 708 if the priority is above the priority threshold343, the controller 112 routes 620 the communication to the portablesubscriber unit 122, else the controller 112 sends 618 the communicationelsewhere, e.g., to the message storage space 338. Preferably, thepriority threshold 343 is assigned on a per-subscriber basis.Alternatively, a single, system-wide priority threshold can be utilizedinstead. Practical examples of applications of the third and fourthaspects of the present invention follow.

When a person is driving a car, the person wishes to limit the inboundcalls to only a small sub-set of other individuals, e.g., wife and boss,since there is some concern for safety while talking and driving. Thethird aspect of the present invention advantageously provides such afeature.

Similarly, the fourth aspect allows a priority indicator attached to acall to be used to indicate whether the call is important enough toroute to the called party even when driving in a car. It will beappreciated that the third and fourth aspects can be combined, suchthat, for example, only high priority calls from either the wife or theboss will be routed to the portable subscriber unit 122 when moving athigh speed.

Thus, it should be clear from the preceding disclosure that the presentinvention advantageously provides a method for prioritizing acommunication in a wireless communication system. Advantageously, themethod allows prioritization of the communication based upon therelative locations of the caller and the intended recipient, furtherbased upon the location of a calling portable unit, and further basedupon the speed at which an intended portable recipient is moving.

Many modifications and variations of the present invention are possiblein light of the above teachings. Thus, it is to be understood that,within the scope of the appended claims, the invention can be practicedother than as specifically described herein above.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for prioritizing a communicationincluding an originator of said communication in a wirelesscommunication system serving a plurality of portable subscriber units,the method comprising the steps of: receiving said communication, whichspecifies one of the plurality of portable subscriber units for whichsaid communication is intended; computing a speed at which said one ofthe plurality of portable subscriber units is moving; comparing saidspeed with a speed threshold; comparing said originator with a list ofimportant originators associated with said one of the plurality ofportable subscriber units, in response to said speed exceeding the speedthreshold; diverting said communication to a message storage when saidoriginator is found to be not included in the list of importantoriginators; and routing said communication to said one of the pluralityof portable subscriber units when not diverting said communication tosaid message storage.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein saidcommunication includes an indicator controlled by said originator forindicating a priority of said communication, wherein the method furthercomprises the step of comparing said priority with a priority threshold,in response to said speed exceeding the speed threshold, and whereinsaid diverting step comprises the step of diverting said communicationto message storage when said priority is found to be below the prioritythreshold.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein said communicationoriginates from a second one of the plurality of portable subscriberunits, and wherein the method further comprises the steps of: assigninga priority to said communication, the priority based upon an originatorlocation at which an originator of said communication is positioned; andprocessing said communication in accordance with said priority.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the diverting step comprises the step ofsending said communication to a voice mail system.
 5. A method forprioritizing a communication including a priority indicator controlledby an originator of said communication for indicating a priority of saidcommunication in a wireless communication system serving a plurality ofportable subscriber units, the method comprising the steps of: receivingsaid communication, which specifies one of the plurality of portablesubscriber units for which said communication is intended; computing aspeed at which said one of the plurality of portable subscriber units ismoving; comparing said speed with a speed threshold; comparing saidpriority with a priority threshold, when said speed exceeds the speedthreshold; routing said communication to said one of the plurality ofportable subscriber units when said speed does not exceed the speedthreshold; and routing said communication to said one of the pluralityof portable subscriber units when said priority is above the prioritythreshold.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step ofsending said communication to a message storage when said speed exceedsthe speed threshold and said priority is not above the prioritythreshold.
 7. A method for prioritizing a communication in a wirelesscommunication system serving a plurality of portable subscriber units,the method comprising the steps of: receiving said communication fromone of the plurality of portable subscriber units; determining ageographic location at which the one of the plurality of portablesubscriber units is positioned; assigning a location context to saidgeographic location, and designating a time period during which thelocation context is applicable; and assigning a priority to saidcommunication, the priority based upon said geographic location and thelocation context, and basing the priority upon the location context onlyduring said time period; and processing said communication in accordancewith said priority.
 8. A method for prioritizing a communication in awireless communication system serving a plurality of portable subscriberunits, the method comprising the steps of: receiving said communicationfrom one of the plurality of portable subscriber units; determining ageographic location, using a location receiver, at which the one of theplurality of portable subscriber units is positioned; assigning apriority to said communication, the priority based upon said geographiclocation; and processing said communication in accordance with saidpriority.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step ofassigning a location context to said geographic location, wherein thestep of assigning the priority comprises the step of basing the priorityupon the location context.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein thelocation context is stored in at least one of: a fixed portion of thesystem; and the one of the plurality of portable subscriber units. 11.The method of claim 9, wherein the location context is identified to theone of the plurality of portable subscriber units from a short-rangecell.
 12. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of defininga request type for said communication; wherein the step of assigning thepriority comprises the step of basing the priority upon the requesttype.